Bolivian prosecutors officially announced on Monday Paid An arrest warrant has been issued for former socialist president and aggravated human trafficking pedophile Evo Morales.
Mr. Morales, 65, is a failed socialist dictator who ruled Bolivia for four terms from 2006 to 2019, circumventing the two-term limit set in Bolivia's constitution through questionable court decisions. Morales is currently embroiled in a years-long power struggle for control of Bolivia with his former protégé and current socialist president Luis Arce. in spite of Limited timeMorales insists he will run again for the presidential election in 2025.
In recent months, local prosecutors have reopened an investigation into human trafficking and statutory rape charges that Morales allegedly committed while he was president. The investigation was originally launched in 2019, but remained “frozen” until September of this year.
Local authorities found evidence in the southern city of Tarija that Morales had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl, identified as Cindy Vargas, in 2016. Vargas gave birth to a child when she was 16 years old. Authorities recently said that Tarija's birth certificate lists Morales as the father of Vargas' child.
Tarija prosecutor Sandra Gutierrez said the formal indictment and arrest warrant were filed in response to Morales' refusal to appear and testify at a subpoena as part of an ongoing investigation. Additionally, an arrest warrant has been issued for Vargas' mother, Idelza Pozo Saavedra, who is being investigated on charges of “handing over” Vargas to Morales and allowing them to have sexual relations in exchange for political or other benefits. has been done. Vargas' father has remained in preemptive detention since October.
“today [Monday] A formal indictment for the crime of human trafficking has been filed,” Gutierrez said. said local reporters. “These two individuals have had and are currently facing warrants for their arrest due to their failure to appear on summons.”
Gutierrez added that he had also activated a migration alert for Morales and Pozo Saavedra to prevent them from leaving the country.
The prosecutor said, “Due to the risk of flight or obstruction, both have been requested to be detained, and we plan to prove all the facts, points, and accumulated evidence at a hearing.'' “We have also activated a migration alert considering their easy escape.”
Since the investigation resumed, Morales had been “hiding” in Chapare, a regional state in Cochabamba in central Bolivia, widely considered his “political stronghold.” Morales is reportedly under the constant protection of “at least 500 people” at any given time.
Mr. Morales immediately responded to the accusations by saying: place an order founded by his sympathizers violent blockade Crossing major roads across the country in October. The lockdown, which lasted more than three weeks, caused significant losses to Bolivia's economy, leading to widespread hunger and shortages of other essential goods. Violent protesters countered law enforcement efforts to lift the blockade, attacking police officers with rocks and dynamite.
Cindy Vargas, the alleged victim of Morales' rape and human trafficking, is missing along with her 8-year-old child. October. Vargas and the child were last seen on the evening of October 2, near the school in Yaquiba where the child was enrolled. According to the ongoing investigation, Vargas' parents enrolled him in the Pro-Morales youth group, which was formed in the mid-2010s and consists of teenagers between the ages of 14 and 15.
Gutierrez said Morales was first charged in mid-October, but at the time officers failed to comply with the arrest warrant and justified the lack of compliance through “countless” calls. Prosecutors noted that part of the police report states Morales gave authorities a false address and was not present at any other residence or location where he could be found.
Another report, Gutierrez said, said arrests could not be made because of violent roadblocks by pro-Morales supporters.
Morales' lawyer Wilfredo Chávez reportedly questioned Gutierrez's actions, asserting that the former socialist president was “not informed” of the indictment.
“The only thing I know is that he [Morales] It hasn't been reported, and what I can confirm now is that the prosecutor's office recognizes that it wasn't reported because of the lockdown, which ended over a month ago,” Chavez said. is said to have spoken.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here
